Parliament was the body that passed laws. It consisted of the House of Lords (about 90 members of the nobility) and the House of Commons (about 450 members of the gentry). Very few people could vote so England was not a democracy and there were no political parties. Parliament only met when Elizabeth called it and usually it did what she wanted but at times it could be difficult. For example, the House of Lords nearly blocked Elizabeth's Religious Settlement in 1559 which made England a Protestant country again. Parliament also put pressure on Elizabeth to marry, leading her to ban them from discussing the subject. Puritans in Parliament criticised the Queen's religious policies and Peter Wentworth was imprisoned in the Tower in 1576 for speaking forcefully in defence of freedom of speech.

Parliament was also needed to vote for taxes for Elizabeth, especially to fund wars. On average Parliament only met for 3 weeks per year during Elizabeth's reign and didn't meet at all in 29 of the 45 years of her reign. Although Parliament needed to be managed, it never stopped Elizabeth from carrying out her programme.

GCSE Elizabethan England 1568-1603 AQA

Elizabeth and Parliament